Through a link found on www.alternativesource.org, I found a link to a consumer reports article comparing the TCO of many hybrid vehicles to their conventional counterparts. The article charts how much money you can expect to save or loose over the course of a 5 year period, assuming the vehicle is driven 15,000 miles per year, gas steadily increases to $4.00/gallon, and the vehicle was purchased in California in January of 2006. They compare all of the hybrid models that are available now with the exception of the Honda Insight. It's interesting that the only vehicle that ends up in the positive for money saved over 5 years is the Toyota Prius, and that's only with the federal tax credit.
While I believe this is good information, and people need to realize that they won't make money by purchasing a hybrid, that's not the reason to buy one. I've said many times, and I know other "green" groups have done the same, that the reason to buy a hybrid is for its fuel economy and environmental impact. This article does nothing to weigh that factor. I'm not sure that they can, other than to state how many barrells of oil would be saved by each driver. It's just not something that average consumer understands. They only look at the price savings, which aren't there.
Posted by doug at March 9, 2006 07:51 AM